Other emails reveal that DePinho intervened on behalf of his wife, M.D. Anderson physician and researcher Lynda Chin, when she complained to him about problems obtaining lab space for a research project that was outside the scope of the UT review.

One question addressed during the investigation is whether DePinho exercised any influence to help obtain the grant. "No conflicts of interest whatsoever were identified in the review," Cigarroa said.

In a statement Thursday, DePinho wrote that the review "confirms there was no inappropriate internal influence, ill-intent, improper conduct or conflicts of interest in our application or the way it was submitted to CPRIT." Earlier in the day, DePinho wrote M.D. Anderson employees hailing the review and urging his staff to move forward in its cancer-curing mission.

The review does point out procedural violations in the grant application and calls for policy and educational changes to ensure improvement. DePinho's statement noted those are under way.

Talk over cocktails

In contrast to the review's larger conclusions, emails obtained by the Chronicle show that a scientist closely involved with CPRIT grants believed DePinho intervened on his wife's behalf.

Dr. Charles Sherr, a National Academy of Sciences member who serves on CPRIT's scientific review council, wrote in an email in May: "It is my firm belief that Ron (DePinho) played a direct and important role in helping to orchestrate what is, in effect, a coup d'etat" by bypassing scientific review of the grant.

His email was sent to CPRIT's chief scientific reviewer, Dr. Alfred Gilman.

In this email, one of hundreds obtained in an open records request, Sherr recalled meeting DePinho at a gathering of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in Boston in early October.

"Over cocktails, I ran into Ron who immediately told me that he was in direct touch with 'the higher-ups' who run CPRIT and that the program and Al would soon be under pressure to change the current approach," Sherr wrote. "I was not blind-sided later by the proposal to mount a 'Lynda Chin Institute' under the auspices of Ron and (M.D. Anderson)."

In a recent interview, DePinho said he didn't recall details of the conversation with Sherr in Boston.

"But I have not, nor have I ever, attempted to influence specific award decisions," DePinho said.

Gilman, a Nobel laureate, resigned from CPRIT in May, citing concerns about the way the agency handled the M.D. Anderson grant.

The UT system's investigation into this process looked only into the actions of M.D. Anderson, not those of CPRIT.

Lab space dispute

A separate email exchange between Chin and David Pollock, an M.D. Anderson genetics researcher, shows that Chin turned to her husband when she hit a roadblock in an application for one of M.D. Anderson's core laboratories.

On Feb. 17, Chin was informed via email that her request for the lab for a gene expression research project was denied by M.D. Anderson's genetics department. "Why is this disapproved?" Chin asked Pollock.

During subsequent emails, Pollock tried to explain that Chin's proposals contained insufficient statistical analysis. Chin, apparently unsatisfied, forwarded the exchange to DePinho with the added comment, "Talk about a bureaucracy!"

Under an arrangement put in place last year to guard against nepotism, Chin reports directly to Dr. Ken Shine, vice chancellor of the UT System, rather than to her husband.

DePinho forwarded the entire string of emails to M.D. Anderson's provost, Raymond DuBois, who oversees research. DePinho added the comment, "Other than delaying progress and makes our investigators less competitive is there a good reason for all of this? :-)"

DuBois replied he would look into the matter.

DePinho said Thursday his response was something he would have done for anyone.

"One of the responsibilities of a president's job is to improve processes," said DePinho. "Requests and ideas for efficiencies are often brought to my attention by faculty, employees, volunteers, patients and many others. Dr. Chin has the same opportunity awarded anyone to call things to my attention, and I have a responsibility to acknowledge her concerns, just as I would any other."

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